I know that I probably wouldn't have stuck around if I had to go through some training class when I started. Part of the allure of the site is the variety of maps and settings, and anything that prevents people from experiencing those is probably not a great suggestion. My 2 cents.

Thank you tkr4lf, But here is the thing SoC could advance the players in maps as they progress in skill. Myself and my clan played some of the SoC on maps other than Classic and got it handed to us. SoC instructors know the maps and which categories to start ? in. And if your not skilled at all,how fun is it to keep getting killed the first ten games you play,would you come back. Probably not. ? dont know that its not standard to have to go thru SoC,and there are already restrictions on maps and games they can play.

I think this is the best answer yet! After a while bitching about a problem just turns into background noise. I love solutions!

I could expand on this a bit.They could "level" their way up. Level one=SOC entry. After X number of wins in SOC structured games earns Level two. Level two: They earn the right to JOIN certain community Games. Level three:After X number of wins they earn the right to JOIN any community games.Level four: After X number of wins they earn the right to CREATE games. still limited to less complicated maps.After X number of wins on different maps (think mini crossmaps) against X number of unique opponents they earn full site use. Hell, they could be awarded a medal for earning each milestone.

Everyone who has ever played Video or computer games understands "unlocking" new aspects of the game and the sense of achievement that comes from reaching a goal usually keeps people engaged longer.

In keeping with the "military" ranking system. The SOC could be renamed the CC Boot camp. Within the beginning stages of the "training" all the problematic rules and the layout of the forums could be explained. It would engage people a hell of a lot more than just throwing them in the deep end of the pool and hoping some asshole doesnt do a cannonball on their heads.

This, in my opinion, would eliminate farming and reduce the number of multis. This in turn would lead to less work for the multi hunters so they could actually have the time to screen the new recruits for multi accounts. Which would in turn lead to more credibility for the MH's, which has apparently taken some hits lately. (just an observation)All of these things should improve the site competition, the site moral and force some to find new things to complain about.

Thank you Geger for those valid points, What I am working towards here is a viable way to stop farming on CC with what is already in place. And with pertinent points like yours, The possibility comes closer to reality. What I laid out is a possible format to be tweaked into a working solution. Quite a few players who come here speak a language that can be worked around. A suggestion on that would be welcome.

Thank you, jcrymal for the support and your suggestion of leveling up is an excellent Idea. Exactly correct in the video game analogy, It most likely would hold more appeal to to new members who most likely play video games. The mentoring program is a good Idea also, Maybe let the SoC oversee it to choose the mentors. That way sound people who are dedicated to mentoring are the ones leading the ? to an enjoyable experience on CC. Oh and my apologies to the SoC guys for not running this idea by them first.

Nah, this is a bad idea. Any training program needs to be voluntary, otherwise it's just not fun, it becomes a rote activity of hurdles you have to pass to get to the fun part. Most would get bored midway and leave the site, I wager.

Most people come here to play for FUN. They don't care about rank or points or becoming a top-ranked elite player. They just want to have some fun.

Some eventually become good and start investing more in the game. Others keep playing for fun. There's nothing wrong with either approach. But then there's this small elite of competitive players, who try to claim that only their way of enjoying the game is the right one, and everyone else should adapt to that or leave...

I'm in agreement with natty on this one. I don't think mandatory training will be received well.

That being said, I did not know about the SoC until well after that usergroup started. My suggestion would be to better advertise the training program. And I don't mean advertise in the forums; I mean advertise on the front page or before a player signs up. And when I mean advertise, I mean tell the new user why it's good to get trained up and bad not to.

Yes You are right Greek put it on the register page in a way that you are drawn to read about the SoC, And it invites you into the group in a style that you feel like joining as soon as you register, But leave out any actual negativity about the site. Progress is being made toward a solution, Lynch has a Topic going that also has some valid suggestions. If the right people get together they can formulate a suggestion that will be acceptable and go forward. A good Idea to push the SoC towards ? joining might be show the rank and achievements of a few of its graduates on the CC home page, Along with the Instructors.

Just start everyone out with a cook hat. Give them 500 points. After they have played 5 games give them the other 500....For that matter start them with 1 point and award the other 999 upon completion of 5 games.Make ? indistinguishable from cooks, and start them with far less points so the risk/reward is even greater. This way even if people were farming it wouldn't be worth the effort.Done.

“One of God's own prototypes.....never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

I see what your saying on this L M S, downside of that would be Ranchers looking for the hat sitting at less than 10 games and somwhere around 999 points. What might work Is for the ? points, games, wins etc be hidden until they have achieved a higher number of games say 50. You really dont want to Farm or Ranch someone you dont know their stats LoL.

It makes it a pain in the ass. Its easy to spot a ? and go from there, extra steps and all that to find the under 5 games guys in the sea of cook hats plus, winning a 5 player game would net you 4 points instead of 30 AND you would lose 100 if you lost. As a side benefit it would get rid of the point inflation problem around here with all the 1000 pointers being brought into the system only to leave after two games.When you are a ? and under 5 games, you don't come here for the points and the rank...you have no idea about that stuff. All you want to do is play some games so you wouldn't even notice. How many people would bother creating multis in order to gain points if they knew there were only 1 point to gain?

Maybe several problems can be killed with one graceful solution is all I'm suggesting.

There is ALWAYS gonna be someone that finds a way into the fortress.....no matter how many tanks you put out front. Just a matter of limiting that as much as possible.

“One of God's own prototypes.....never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

Most of the ideas that were submitted and put them together and tweaked a little. Thank all of you for your input, whether for or against everyone had good points on both sides. Anything else you can think of please add. Also thank all of you for debating and keeping it civil, Rare it happens.

I don't think hiding all stats will work or be implemented, to be honest. Actually that just makes it easier to spot them if you think about it....

I don't know what I think about it really cause there is not a solution unless you fix the multi problem too. People join, get farmed then either quit (for a a bunch of different reasons) or make another account now that they "know what they are doing", because they suddenly care about the points and have Conqueror Stars in their eyes. Like I wrote before, the points don't come into it for a ? until a few games in anyway. Get rid of the points (that don't matter) in the first place.Gotta quit rewarding the "farmers", that's the best way.

“One of God's own prototypes.....never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

But if your in just to get points to make it to the top of the board, Do you want to risk losing 30+ points and gain maybe 4. You wont know anything at all about this player, Not to many Farmers or Rancher would be willing to risk this as quick. thats a 50 game jump the ? would get to learn what they want, Who's to say if they are good or Bad at playing the map they join.

I disagree with natty about the mandatory training in general. I think the SoC could be very cumbersome for beginners, but I think that some kind of small mandatory training would be great for new recruits. I have played many different games where there are small training exercises at the beginning in order to teach a few ins and outs of the game and a reward also comes with the completion of the exercises.

I'm not sure what rewards could be given for successful completion, but we do have medals, speed games, and points that can all be given. You could start a new player at 900 points instead of 1000 and give them 10 or 20 points for successfully doing things. And give them 100 in total to make it to 1000.

1. Promote the SoC but don't make it mandatory2. Warn any new member of the possibility of unscrupulous practices, e.g. invites to private games from people they don't know3. Start any new member with 0 points. They only start playing for points after completing 20 games. That way they are familiar with the game and all its various settings

Can't we just up the new recruit game limit. Give them rank after 5 games. But keep them blue or red until they have completed 100 games. Then they should at least have experience of multiple game settings and maps.

Perhaps a warning regarding farmers in the SoC is a good idea. Making the SoC mandatory will just create so much work, and wont protect them from the maps and settings these farmers use anyway.